In short

The last step of the path is universal concession: not “even though it rained” but “no matter what happens”. The everyday 〜ても covers one condition; 疑問詞 + であれ (de are) covers every value, 〜(よ)うが〜まいが covers both poles of a yes/no, and 〜たところで says the effort would be wasted anyway. Of the whole set only 〜とはいえ (to wa ie) is genuinely speakable - learn the rest to read them.

The rule

Step 1 - Noun + であれ: whatever the value, the result stands.

であれ is the imperative of である (lesson 60), frozen into a concessive: be it X. It bolts onto a bare noun with no copula and no particle: 理由が何であれ (riyū ga nan de are, whatever the reason), 相手が誰であれ (aite ga dare de are, whoever the other party is).

Two productive shapes:

• 疑問詞 + であれ - 誰であれ, 何であれ, いつであれ, どこであれ, どんな理由であれ (donna riyū de are). This is the formal twin of the A2 疑問詞 + でも you met in lesson 19: どんな理由でも -> どんな理由であれ, same meaning, one register up.
• X であれ Y であれ - two listed values: 男であれ女であれ (otoko de are onna de are, man or woman alike).

The longer variant 〜であろうと(も) (de arō to mo) is the same thing built on である’s volitional, and 〜であろうとなかろうと (de arō to nakarō to, whether it is or isn’t) closes both sides at once: 事実であろうとなかろうと (jijitsu de arō to nakarō to).

Step 2 - 〜といえども: even the case you’d expect to be exempt.

Noun (or plain clause) + といえども (to iedomo) is stiff written Japanese for even. Its point is that the item in front is the one you would have assumed was an exception: 専門家といえども、間違えることはあります。 (Senmonka to iedomo, machigaeru koto wa arimasu.) - experts are exactly the people who supposedly do not make mistakes.

That is why 子どもといえども or 一円といえども work well, and why a neutral noun (×水曜日といえども) sounds odd. Register: reports, editorials, speeches - never casual conversation.

Step 3 - 〜とはいえ: the one you will actually use.

Noun (bare) / plain clause + とはいえ = that said, even so. It concedes a label and then denies what the label implies: 春とはいえ、朝はまだ寒いです。 (Haru to wa ie, asa wa mada samui desu.) It is formal but perfectly speakable in careful adult Japanese, unlike everything else on this page.

Two things to keep straight:

• After a noun it normally attaches bare - 春とはいえ - though だ is also accepted: 日本人だとはいえ. (Contrast からといって in Step 6, where だ after a noun is obligatory, not optional.)
• It also stands sentence-initially as a connective: とはいえ、簡単ではありません。 (To wa ie, kantan de wa arimasen.) The fuller とはいうものの (to wa iu mono no) does the same job and links back to ものの from lesson 59.

Step 4 - The まい form: the negative volitional that lesson 38 only previewed.

It is literary, which is why ordinary speech does without it. まい is the negative counterpart of 〜(よ)う, and it attaches like this:

• 五段 (Group I): dictionary form + まい - 行く -> 行くまい (ikumai), 降る -> 降るまい (furumai).
• 一段 (Group II): bare stem + まい is the standard shape, though the dictionary form is also seen - 食べる -> 食べまい／食べるまい (tabemai / taberumai).
• する -> しまい／するまい (shimai / surumai), plus the classical すまい (sumai); 来る -> 来まい／来るまい (komai / kurumai).

On its own it states a resolution not to do something: 二度と行くまい。 (Nido to ikumai.) - I shall never go there again. Bookish, but it appears in narration constantly.

Step 5 - 〜(よ)うが〜まいが: both poles, so the outcome is fixed.

Pair the volitional with まい and add が (or the slightly more written と) after each half:

V-volitional + が／と + the same verb in まい + が／と, [main clause].

雨が降ろうと降るまいと、試合は行われます。 (Ame ga furō to furumai to, shiai wa okonawaremasu.) Both branches are covered, so the main clause is unaffected - that is the whole meaning.

Three related shapes:

• 疑問詞 + volitional + が - 何を言おうが、決定は変わりません。 (Nani o iō ga, kettei wa kawarimasen.) One half is enough when a question word already covers everything.
• い-adjective + かろうが - 高かろうが安かろうが (takakarō ga yasukarō ga, expensive or cheap).
• Noun + であろうが〜であろうが - the であれ family of Step 1, in が-shape.

Step 6 - 〜からといって: the inference is what gets denied.

Plain form + からといって, and after a noun you need だ: 日本人だからといって (Nihonjin da kara to itte). It says just because A, that does not mean B - so the main clause must negate, normally with 〜わけではない (lesson 53) or 〜とは限らない: 安いからといって、品質が悪いわけではありません。 (Yasui kara to itte, hinshitsu ga warui wake de wa arimasen.) A positive main clause breaks the pattern outright. The casual contraction is 〜からって.

Step 7 - 〜たところで: even if you did, it is futile.

V-た + ところで looks past but is hypothetical and future-facing: even if one were to do it. The main clause is obligatorily negative, futile or dismissive - 遅い, 無駄だ, 間に合わない, 変わらない: 今更謝ったところで、もう遅いです。 (Imasara ayamatta tokoro de, mō osoi desu.)

It takes verbs only (no adjectives, no nouns), it cannot end in a request or a command, and the main clause is never past. Do not confuse it with 〜たところ (upon doing) or 〜たところだ (have just done) from lesson 50 - the で is the whole difference.

Step 8 - 〜にしろ／にせよ／にしても: whichever of these options.

Historically the imperatives of する (しろ／せよ), these list alternatives and declare them equivalent. Noun or plain clause + にしろ／にせよ／にしても: 行くにせよ行かないにせよ、早めに連絡してください。 (Iku ni seyo ikanai ni seyo, hayame ni renraku shite kudasai.) With a single noun it means even as X: 冗談にせよ、その言い方はひどいです。

にしても is the softest and most usable; にせよ is the most formal. The frozen adverbs いずれにせよ (izure ni seyo) and どちらにしろ (dochira ni shiro), both either way, are worth memorising as units.

Forms & patterns

What each pattern attaches to:

The まい paradigm, and the pole-pair frame it builds:

The whole concession ladder of this path, on three axes:

Examples

Common mistakes

• 彼が来ようが来ないが (Kare ga koyō ga konai ga) -> 彼が来ようが来まいが (Kare ga koyō ga komai ga) - the negative half of this frame is まい, not the plain ない-form: both halves take a volitional-type ending, and ×来ないが breaks that pairing.
• 今更謝るところで、もう遅いです。 (Imasara ayamaru tokoro de, mō osoi desu.) -> 今更謝ったところで、もう遅いです。 (Imasara ayamatta tokoro de, mō osoi desu.) - ところで demands the た-form even though the meaning is hypothetical and future. The た here marks a completed supposition, not past time.
• 急いだところで、間に合います。 (Isoida tokoro de, ma ni aimasu.) -> 急いだところで、間に合いません。 (Isoida tokoro de, ma ni aimasen.) - the main clause after たところで must be negative or futile. If the result is actually positive, the sentence you want is 急げば or 急いでも.
• 安いからといって、品質が悪いです。 (Yasui kara to itte, hinshitsu ga warui desu.) -> 安いからといって、品質が悪いわけではありません。 (Yasui kara to itte, hinshitsu ga warui wake de wa arimasen.) - からといって exists to deny an inference, so it needs 〜わけではない or 〜とは限らない at the end. Left positive it says the opposite of what you mean.
• 日本人からといって、みんな寿司が好きなわけではありません。 (Nihonjin kara to itte, minna sushi ga suki na wake de wa arimasen.) -> 日本人だからといって、みんな寿司が好きなわけではありません。 (Nihonjin da kara to itte, minna sushi ga suki na wake de wa arimasen.) - after a noun からといって requires だ. とはいえ is the relaxed one of the pair: 春とはいえ is the usual shape, but 春だとはいえ is also accepted - so it is からといって, not とはいえ, that you have to watch.

Tips

• Apply the “no matter” test. If English needs no matter what / whoever / either way, you are in であれ, 〜(よ)うが〜まいが or にしろ territory. If English only needs although / even though, stay with ても, のに, ものの or とはいえ. Universality, not formality, is what separates this lesson from lesson 59.
• Only とはいえ is safe to speak. であれ, といえども, ようがまいが and たところで are reading-and-writing items: editorials, contracts, novels, formal speeches. Using them in a chat sounds like quoting a legal notice. Recognise all of them; produce とはいえ and にしても.
• たところで looks backwards and points forwards. The た is the trap. 謝ったところで is even if you were to apologise, never when you apologised. Keep it apart from 〜たところ (upon doing it, I found…) - one small で decides which one a reader sees.
• まい is the missing half of the volitional. Lesson 38 taught you there is no everyday negative “let’s”; the literary language has one, and it does two jobs - a solitary vow (二度と行くまい) and the second pole of 〜(よ)うが〜まいが. Learn the しまい and 来まい irregulars first; they carry most of the real examples.